Taking me back 2

Later in the night was guitar time, a dedication to George Benson, guitarist, singer, pop-breakthrough and especially his albums Cookbook and Breezin'.  I heard him yonks back in Adelaide but others mention him visiting Canberra only 7-or-so years ago.  Perhaps the closest thing to the Subterraneans in this was the clear, crisp, uneffected guitars.  Otherwise this was another world.  Standards, fast clips, clarity, walking bass and swinging drum grooves, baritone sax.  Bari sax?  It's a strange combination with clean guitar but George Benson used it and Tom told me the name of the NYC bari player.  I've forgotten his name but I can remember the effectiveness of that deep and satisfying tone, somewhat hard to hear clearly down in those frequencies with plenty of quick solo and melody lines, but it worked a treat.  Jokingly we were welcomed to the pre-gig rehearsal for this is a thrown together session in the jam session tradition, tunes being identified for players to learn then they get together on the night, I guess.  Maybe not for Chris and James because they'd done a similar gig in Melbourne, but there was plenty of concentration on a few faces on stage and big smiles when they carried it off.  And they did.  Fast and faster at times or ballads and even poppy, with GB's unlikely international pop-hit Breezing to finish.  But before that, all guitar solos passed and other instruments called for and fast-as lines, like Ready and able and The Cooker but also some ballads, Will you still be mine, Willow weep for me and some bluesy things, although not too obviously 12-bars, and interesting changing combinations, from quintet down to duo and two different guitar trios and a guitar quartet in between.    This was much more bop than funk so hugely different and more agreeable on the ears, but another fabulously interesting outing with plenty of good will and laughs.  Chris will continue this series with an invitation to another ex-CSM student, Sydneysider Carl Dewhurst, sometime in September.  Keep your eyes peeled.

Chris Johnstone (guitar) called together James Sherlock (guitar, Melbourne), Tom Fell (baritone sax), James Luke (bass) and Nick McBride (drums) to play a tribute to George Benson at Smiths.